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My Montessori blog

Work-in-Progress Wednesday – June 22 edition

by Decemberbaby

First things first: hats off to Lisaleh for sticking with WIP Wednesday! Check out her beautiful new deck chair (protected from the elements) and take a look at the awesome bins she’s going to be organizing with this week.

Envious of our productivity? It can be yours for the low, low price of posting about it on your blog, and then linking back to this post so your readers can check out other WIP Wednesday posts and get inspired.

And now for my projects:

Completed: Chalkboard Makeover

I stupidly forgot to take a “before” picture, so imagine a large chalkboard with a black metal frame, and the slogan “Amster’dam good beer” accompanied by the Amsterdam beer logo. We found the thing on the curb two years ago and stashed it away, thinking that it would be great for K to draw on. This summer I decided to put it outside so that her love of sidewalk chalk need not end at the sidewalk. Needless to say, I didn’t think a beer slogan was a great thing to have on my kid’s chalkboard, so I embarked on a spray-painty makeover.

Here’s the finished product:

I tried to think of something clever to write or draw across the top, but I couldn’t. I figured that “creative work in progress” works on so many levels: the work on the board will be a constant WIP, the child drawing it is a work-in-progress, raising my kids is a creative work-in-progress, and so is our backyard.

As soon as it stops threatening thunderstorms I’ll mount this chalkboard on a fence (or maybe the side of the porch?) in our backyard, add a hook for K’s bucket o’ chalk, and pronounce this project completely and absolutely done.

In progress: photo editing and printing

I’ve bought into a great deal on photo printing: 1000 4×6 prints for $99. The downside? I have to drop off the USB key (included in the deal) by next Thursday. I’ll be spending a lot of time going through our photo archives and printing absolutely everything that looks remotely good. At least now I feel glad that I haven’t printed any photos of the kids since 2009.

In progress: fabric book covers

In the end I chose to contribute to a group gift for K’s teachers, but I just wanted to give them something a little more thoughtful than a gift card, y’know? So I figured… most teachers love to read, and summer is coming up, and it’s nice to be able to take your book along and not keep losing your bookmark and not worry about getting dirt or ice cream on it. Right?

I’m designing and sewing book covers for K’s two teachers. Each cover is going to be re-sizable (thanks to strategically placed snaps) and will feature a sewn-in ribbon bookmark, carry handles, and a spine labeled with the teacher’s name.

The catch? The last day of school is Friday, as in the day after tomorrow. Yikes! I guess I’m spending all of tomorrow in my workshop… good thing they’re calling for rain.

So that’s it. Don’t forget, no project is too big, too small, too outrageous, or too mundane for WIP Wednesday. Join me and Lisaleh and feel inordinately proud of yourself for doing stuff you probably need to get done anyway!